[nzlug] Sound generation on Linux

[cr]

On Saturday 09 June 2007 14:35, Cliff Pratt wrote:
> Can someone please give me an overview of sound creation in Linux?
>
> Say I have a program like 'vkeybd'. This is supposedly a simple 'virtual
> keyboard' that supports MIDI. It puts up the keyboard fine, but no
> sounds happen when the keys are pressed. Other things like games produce
> sounds, no problems. Obviously I'm missing a link somewhere hence the
> request for some 'edjikation' on sound matters.
>
> If it's relevant, the Volume Control says "NVidia CK804 (Alsa mixer)"
> but can be changed to "Realtek ALC850 rev0 (OSS mixer)".
>
> Cheers,
>
> Cliff

I had that same problem playing MP3 files after an upgrade.

As an absolute non-expert, I found that tweaking with some of the input 
settings in the ALSA mixer (volume control), in particular the 'capture' 
setting, made it work.   (By 'tweaking' I mean ticking the 'record' 
box/buttons and pushing up the sliders).    

I also checked that I was in the 'audio' group.

I have a separate sound card installed and I seem to recall I had to get into 
the BIOS and disable the mainboard's sound chip, too.

I too would love to see a clear easy-to-understand overview of sound, though I 
suspect, with so many alternative overlapping apps around, such an overview 
would be quite hard to create.

cr